Larry Wall
Larry Wall
Larry Wall is a computer programmer and author, most widely known as the creator of the Perl programming language...
NationalityCanadian
ProfessionAuthor
Date of Birth10 March 1949
CountryCanada
mean feel-better pay
The only reason [not to use] perl is that some sysadmins don't allow software that they didn't pay for. By all means, let them send me money if it makes them feel better.
song love-you ideas
Never put off till tomorrow what you can put off till the day after tomorrow. Like a variant of the song, Tomorrow, only it's more of the idea, the Mexican idea of mañana, you know, [singing] mañana, mañana, I love you, mañana, you're always a day away.
lines want one-line
You want it in one line? Does it have to fit in 80 columns?
philosophy thinking way
I think the way IBM has embraced the open source philosophy has been quite astonishing, but gratifying. I hope they'll do very well with it.
thinking operating-systems particular
I think operating systems work best if they're free and open. Particular applications are more likely to be proprietary.
coffee choices drug
Well, coffee is my drug of choice, generally, with a little bit of Pepsi here and there, if I need more sugar. But yeah, if I could do intravenous coffee, I would. But I guess that's pretty standard.
wisdom metaphor omniscience
"Lurking" is one metaphor that the Omniscience has allowed us to borrow.
stupid smart becoming
I talked about becoming stupid, but I've always been stupid. Fortunately I've been just smart enough to realize that I'm stupid.
thinking ideas patents
I think software patents are a bad idea. Many patents are given for trivial inventions.
appreciate people would-be
I've had to learn kind of sense when the questions would be coming and be ready to handle them. There's a lot of education and reiteration that happens on these online channels and sometimes it's tempting to just say, "Well, just go and read the documentation," but you know, people appreciate being led along and taught and mentored.
giving people use
I want people to use Perl. I want to be a positive ingredient of the world and make my American history. So, whatever it takes to give away my software and get it used, that's great.
fun serious ideology
If any ideology is so serious that you can't have fun while you're doing it, it's probably too serious.
suffering
Though I'll admit readability suffers slightly...
wheels unix reinvention
Historically speaking, the presence of wheels in Unix has never precluded their reinvention.